This invention relates generally to golf balls and, more particularly, to a golf ball having a kinetically rechargeable battery and sound emitting components that may be remotely energized.
Locating one""s golf ball after striking it a considerable distance or after striking it out-of-bounds is a problem experienced by every golfer. Completely losing one""s ball, of course, results in an undesired two stroke penalty. Various devices have been proposed in the art for locating a lost golf ball through sound emissions, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,447,314 and 6,011,466. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, existing devices contain electronic components powered by a micro-battery that is either not rechargeable or requires an exterior battery recharging unit.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a sound-emitting golf ball having a micro-generator for converting the kinetic energy of a rolling golf ball into electrical energy for recharging a micro-battery. Further, it is desirable to have a sound-emitting golf ball having a geodesic inner housing with interconnected tetrahedral structures for protecting the electronic components. Finally, it is desirable to have a golf ball which may be remotely energized to emit humorous or complimentary messages.
A sound-emitting golf ball according to this invention includes a conventional and spherical dimpled outer shell. An inner housing is positioned centrally within the outer shell. The housing presents a polygonal, geodesic configuration and includes a plurality of interconnected tetrahedral support structures mounted in a chamber defined by the housing. The configuration of the housing and support structures enables the impact force imparted by a golf club head against the outer shell to be distributed over and absorbed by the entire ball rather than merely by the point of impact. Therefore, electronic components mounted in the chamber of the housing are protected.
A rechargeable micro-battery is positioned in the housing and is coupled to a micro-generator. The micro-generate is coupled to a rotatably mounted shaft. The shaft is rotated as gravity urges a pendulum toward the ground as the golf ball rolls or spins during game play. The kinetic energy of shaft rotation is converted into electrical energy by the micro-generator for recharging the micro-battery. A miniature receiver, a digital sound chip with a memory, and a sound generator are also positioned in the chamber and are electrically connected to the micro-battery. The digital sound chip includes a memory for storing a plurality of messages, whether humorous or complimentary. When the receiver receives an appropriate activation signal from a remote transmitter, the receiver permits current from the micro-battery to energize the sound chip to deliver a respective stored message to the sound generator. Preferably, the sound generator is a piezoelectric transducer capable of audibilizing the delivered message. A plurality of tubular sound pipes carry the audible sounds produced by the sound generator to the outer shell so that they may be better heard by a person.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a golf ball which emits sounds to assist golfers in locating the ball.
Another object of this invention is to provide a golf ball, as aforesaid, which audibilizes one of a sequence of preprogrammed audible messages each time it is activated.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a golf ball, as aforesaid, which may be remotely actuated.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a golf ball, as aforesaid, which protects inner electronic components from impact forces with an inner housing having a geodesic configuration with a plurality of tetrahedral support structures positioned therein.
A further object of this invention is to provide a golf ball, as aforesaid, in which its internal components are weighted so that the ball is appropriately balanced for proper flight.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a golf ball, as aforesaid, wherein the preprogrammed audible messages may be humorous or complimentary.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.